“Still Yearning” by Lyric Montgomery Kinard

“Still Yearning” by Lyric Montgomery Kinard

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.

Artist’s Statement:

From its very inception, the privilege of citizenship in the Unites States of America has been denied to group after group, based on race and religion. African Americans were not granted citizenship until 1868, four years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Native Americans were not granted citizenship until 1924. Chinese immigrants were not allowed citizenship until 1943. We have turned away people after people who have sought refuge and opportunity. Now our leaders have chosen to vilify Muslims fleeing massacre and Mexicans seeking a better life for their children.

We as citizens can choose to better live the highest of our American values; “that all men are created equal.” Through our individual actions and compassion we can stitch our country into a tapestry of great strength and beauty. Through our votes and civil dialogue and understanding of the data gathered by scientists, we can mend the tears in the fabric of our society.

Flag photograph by Stuart Seager used by permission; Immigrant photos by Augustus Sherman Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library: public domain.

Hear a message from Lyric about her piece below:

“My Flag, Our Colors” by Mary Bolton

“My Flag, Our Colors” by Mary Bolton

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.

Artist’s Statement:

Channeling Betsy Ross, I took up my needle and thread. Looked into the fabric collection and thought: What would Betsy use if she were making a flag for us today? I thought, not just three colors and it wouldn’t be so neat! We are a multi-colored nation and my flag would be made from many colors, torn and tattered to represent the struggles of a diverse people. Woven in places, because united we are STRONG. And stars, yes, still use the stars, to represent HOPE. And that purple heart? Well, that doesn’t need explanation.

Hear a message from Mary about her piece below:

“Feeding Time at the Swamp” by Alice Beasley

“Feeding Time at the Swamp” by Alice Beasley

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.

Artist’s Statement:

Far from “draining the swamp,” the Alligator in Chief has staffed his cabinet and administration with billionaires, Wall Street insiders, alt-right snakes, Russian cohorts and wealthy campaign contributors all eager to feed off the rest of us.

Hear a message from Alice about her piece below:

“Privileged Times” by Martha Wolfe

“Privileged Times” by Martha Wolfe

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.

Artist’s Statement:

“Privilege is when you think something is not a problem because it’s not a problem to you personally.” – David Gaider

I’ve thought a lot about privilege since the new administration took office. Throughout our lives, we benefit from a variety of privileges we have nothing to do with obtaining and make assumptions about the world based on that experience. With the best intentions, we rally for equality without truly feeling the anxious existence “others” live on a daily basis. Watching how privilege is being used to cultivate prejudice and discrimination, subtle and blatant, makes these issues problems for everyone.

Hear a message from Martha about her piece below:

“There’s Something Between Us” by Heidi Parkes

“There’s Something Between Us” by Heidi Parkes

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.

Artist’s Statement:

In recent years, my mother’s politics have shifted, and she has made it clear that she doesn’t want to discuss her politics with my brother or me. This election has been deeply troubling, and has raised ethical questions that I cannot shrug off as ‘just politics.’ It has created a tangible discomfort in our relationship.

This quilt is an attempt to communicate my heartache over this political divide, as expressed in words, artifacts, and abstract mark making. There are seven phrases embroidered and visible with varying levels of ease, articulating a combination of facts and questions. The quilt is made with a curtain that my mom helped me buy, and that she hemmed for me by hand. These stitches are present in testament to my mother’s deep love for me. They remind me of the countless ways that my mother continues to show her love and care for me. There are two curtains layered in the quilt, and the object, ‘Curtain,’ has many powerfully evocative meanings, in reference to seeing clearly, division of public and private, separation, ‘blinds,’ concealment, privacy, etc. … Employing the techniques of layering, hand quilting, and tying knots, the same threads that were used for language now express visually many of the feelings I am unable to articulate in words to my mother and in embroidered text on this quilt. I feel tied up in knots over this misalignment of values and truths; unraveling, invisible, transparent, snarled, confused…

This work was made with the hope that spending time meditatively and in connection with these objects from my mother – that I could find a way back to loving language with her, while simultaneously holding true to and reaffirming my values as an American. It was also made with an awareness that this divide is echoed in many families across the country.

Hear a message from Heidi about her piece below:

“What Does an American Look Like?” by Deb Cashatt and Kris Sazaki

“What Does an American Look Like?”
by The Pixeladies: Deb Cashatt and Kris Sazaki

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.

Artist’s Statement:

In 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the incarceration of Mitsuye Endo and 120,000 other Americans of Japanese ancestry. She became a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU to strike down her incarceration as unconstitutional. Despite governmental offers of an early release, Endo remained in camp in order for the case to make it to the Supreme Court. Her victory led to the release of the prisoners in 1945. Fast forward to 2017 when we have witnessed President Trump sign first Executive Order 13769 and then Executive Order 13780, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” Both orders have been stopped by lower courts, so this “Muslim Ban” has yet to be implemented. This case is making its way to the Supreme Court.

These executive orders may be separated by 75 years but rely on the same fears of “the enemy.” That is why we pose the question, “What does an American look like?” Mitsuye Endo was an American. She was born in Sacramento, California, graduated from high school, and went to work for the California state government until she was fired from her job and incarcerated. So as you look around the room today, can you tell us what an American looks like?

Hear a message from Kris about their piece below:

“Gusher” by Tanya Brown

“Gusher” by Tanya Brown

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition. 

Artist’s Statement:

With the appointment of a secretary of state from Exxon/Mobil and an EPA head with close ties to the fossil fuel industry, the Trump administration is in the process of shaping America’s foreign and domestic policies for the benefit of the oil industry.

Trump has further shown his support for this group by signing an order to dismantle environmental regulations, claiming this will trigger a new energy boom. As The Washington Post put it, “the order (sends) an unmistakable message about the direction in which Trump wants to take the country – toward unfettered oil and gas production, with an apathetic eye to worries over global warming.”

Trump has expressed outright contempt for clean energy and those who value it, saying, “There has been a big push to develop alternative forms of energy – so-called green energy – from renewable sources. That’s a big mistake. To begin with, the whole push for renewable energy is being driven by the wrong motivation, the mistaken belief that global climate change is being caused by carbon emissions. If you don’t buy that – and I don’t – then what we have is really just an expensive way of making the tree-huggers feel good about themselves.”

“Gusher” represents the damage and waste caused by the unfettered use of oil and fossil fuels for supporting our consumer lifestyle. The backdrop of “Gusher” is a wasteland of parched soil and trash-strewn hovels. Humanity has been reduced to an automaton that excretes a never-ending diarrhea of red, white, and blue plastic crap. “Gusher’s” unsustainable, greed-driven economy has resulted in a world comprising waste and pollution.

 Hear a message from Tanya about her piece below: